Editing Walnut Grove, Mississippi (section)

==Economy==
Marco Apparel, a clothing manufacturer, opened in Walnut Grove in 1984. In 2001, it laid off more than 100 employees.<ref>{{cite web | title = Industrial Closures and Layoffs since 1997 in Leake County, Mississippi | publisher = Leake County | url = http://www.leakeida.com/DataSheet/Expansions.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060531200323/http://www.leakeida.com/DataSheet/Expansions.pdf | url-status = usurped | archive-date = May 31, 2006 | access-date = February 17, 2014}}</ref> The city was struggling to survive.

In 2001, the privately owned Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility was opened in unincorporated county land after being constructed for private operation under contract with the state; it was designed for youth offenders of 18 and under in age. Originally it was considered a model facility. But the state kept raising the age of offenders who were incarcerated there, and some prisoners aged there, so the population included young men in their 20s as well as much younger youths.

From 2003 to 2010, the prison was operated by [[Cornell Companies]], which merged that year with [[GEO Group]]. The town annexed the prison property before 2006, thereby markedly increasing its population.<ref name="growth"/> The prisoners outnumbered town residents by a two to one ratio. In addition to hiring town residents as guards and staff, the prison paid the city substantial amounts in lieu of taxes, with payments making up 15% of the city's annual budget in 2011.<ref name="profits">{{cite web | last = Burnett | first = John | title = Town Relies On Troubled Youth Prison For Profits | publisher = NPR | date = March 25, 2011 | url = https://www.npr.org/2011/03/25/134850972/town-relies-on-troubled-youth-prison-for-profits}}</ref> The facility was subject of many state and federal investigations and was closed in September 2016.